Storytelling: Ritual, Catharsis and Healing in the Jewish American Experience

Authors : Ayşe KIRTUNÇ

Pages : 53-56

View : 8 | Download : 7

Publication Date : 1995-04-01

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Since this a study on storytelling and stories, the formalized oral histories of women that link generations of cultural and material bonds, I would like to start with a personal anecdote. Growing up with children from many different cultural backgrounds and, typically, not savoring or cherishing the experience at the time , I was struck by a trend that marked my Jewish girl friends from all my other friends: These girls referred to their cousins as yengemin kızı my patrilineal or matrilineal uncle`s wife`s daughter whereas the non-Jewish children would all say amcamın/ dayımın kızı my patrilineal or matrilineal uncle`s daughter . I kept wondering why they insisted on making this `mistake.` Certainly, it was one`s male relatives or those related directly by blood that were `actual relatives.` A `yenge,` however, was neither of these. It took me a long time to realize that my Jewish friends were consistently using a preference for matrilineal rather than patrilineal bonding because of their internalized cultural differences.
Keywords :